As we were greeting everyone this morning at church, a young teenage boy walked up beside me. He shook my hand and said good morning and then without missing a beat, slipped past me and quietly walked over to a young lady he knew from school. “Your dress looks really pretty on you today,” he said sweetly.

Her face lit up immediately. “Thank you!” she smiled, “What a nice thing to say.” He reached out and shook her hand and then he began making his way back to his seat.

As I sat down a few minutes later, my heart smiled. He could have simply said good morning, but instead, he chose to compliment her and make her day extra special.

Compliments are easy. Instead of keeping our face in our phones or our head in the clouds, we just simply speak words that encourage. It took this young man eight extra words and I know it absolutely made the other girl’s day.

How many extra words will it take you share a compliment? “I love your hair.” Four extra words. “Great job on that project.” Five extra words. “You are so talented.” Four extra words. “Your smile is so encouraging.” Five extra words.

As you are on your way today, share some extra words with someone. A few extra words might be exactly the encouragement someone else needs.